...Federal Inaction Has Caused States and Cities to Take the Lead

The US position as articulated both at the Washington sessions held at President Bush's invitation and at the Bali conference of all nations has been for adoption of “aspirational” goals with respect to greenhouse gas emissions that would guide the efforts of individual nations but not be binding or enforceable. Unable to persuade others to this position, the US delegation to the Bali conference ultimately took the position that the US would continue to work with other countries toward a solution, thereby deferring the issue to a later date. With the need to have some new guidelines in place as the Kyoto targets expire in 2012, this probably puts resolution off until after the US election.

STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

The political salience of the energy/climate issue continues to be evident at the level of US state and local government and this has to be felt in Washington. The “Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement,” put forth by Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels in 2005 has now been adopted by 656 local governments from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Other significant actions have been taken at the state level. The new Governor of Florida, Charlie Crist (R) has issued an executive order seeking to have his state return to 1990 emission levels in 10 years and to reduce by 80% by 2050. Pressures like this from a growing state that now ranks 4th in US population will help make the case for the kind of uniform national standards preferred by industry. Florida's link to California in this issue was emphasized by Governor Schwarzenegger's presence at the signing ceremony.

Massachusetts' new Governor, Deval Patrick (D), reversed the action taken by his predecessor, Mitt Romney (R) and rejoined the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (REGGIE) shortly after taking office. Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer (D) has been instrumental in pushing a State Climate Action Plan, recognizing the fact that Montana's coal resources will not be a viable economic driver outside of the context of such a plan. Overall, 31 states, representing 70% of the US population, have become participants in a Climate Registry to measure greenhouse gas emissions and verify actions towards their reduction.

In another recent state action, New York's Attorney General Andrew Cuomo took steps under the state's Martin Act (the legislation used by former Attorney General Eliot Spitzer to investigate Wall Street scandals). The Cuomo probe has subpoenaed five large energy companies on the basis that their efforts to expand coal-fired power plants pose undisclosed financial risks to their shareholders.